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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23731204">Sick of Losing Soulmates</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ActualSpaceGremlin/pseuds/ActualSpaceGremlin'>ActualSpaceGremlin</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Stranger Things (TV 2016)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Except the angst is very very minor, Families of Choice, Good Babysitter Steve Harrington, Implied Sexual Content, Multi, Not a soulmate AU, Only did a minimal amount of proof reading, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Queerplatonic Relationships, Recreational Drug Use, Steve Harrington is a Nerd, Underage Drinking, Underage Drug Use, but it’s not they just the irl version of soulmates, just realized that the title and previous description kinda came off as it being a soulmate au</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:41:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,217</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23731204</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ActualSpaceGremlin/pseuds/ActualSpaceGremlin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's not that Nancy and Jonathan are jealous of Steve's relationship with Robin.<br/>They just want to hang out with their boyfriend more often and think that Robin is monopolizing Steve's time.</p><p>Or<br/>Steve and Robin are touchy-feely, super affectionate, and consider each other to be their soulmates. And between Robin and the Party, Jonathan and Nancy never get enough alone time to make out with their boyfriend.<br/>Steve just wants all the people he loves to get along.<br/>Oh, and the deadlines for college applications are coming up.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jonathan Byers/Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, Robin Buckley &amp; Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley/Steve Harrington</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>110</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Sick of Losing Soulmates</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Some minor background info: this sticks pretty close to the overall story of Stranger Things, with some changes to the ending of season three. Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve have been dating since shortly after the end of season two, but before the Snow Ball takes place. Of course this is after sitting down and having a very serious discussion about what had happened at both the Halloween party and Murray's place and where the three of them wanted their relationship to go. During this discussion it was decided that they would keep their relationship quiet for the time being with only Jonathan and Nancy publicly dating.<br/>The biggest change is that at the end of season three Hopper doesn't disappear and Alexei and Billy live. The Byers also choose to stay in town.</p><p>I did look up the dates of some things so there wouldn't be too many glaring errors. That being said I'm tempted to make this an AU where the Legend of Zelda and Metroid came out two years early because aside from Mario most of the launch titles for the NES were kind of...meh and lbr the Party would become obsessed with The Legend of Zelda and Max would probably be super psyched about Samus being a badass woman who kills creepy monsters.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nancy wasn't jealous.<br/>
She wasn't<br/>
<br/>
It's just between their summer jobs and the investigation into the rat problem (which turned out to be more than a rat problem) she and Jonathan hadn't seen Steve in practically two weeks, and had barely seen him all summer. And now that she's finally getting a chance he shows up with worse bruises than after his fight with Billy last November after being tortured and drugged and trapped in a secret Russian base for well over a day.<br/>
<br/>
And she wasn't there to help him. Instead a girl who she vaguely recognized from school (and who always had a snarky comment to share in class) was with him the entire time and was still stuck to his side like glue.<br/>
<br/>
Nancy knows they've probably bonded, shared trauma tended to do that, but that didn't mean that she liked Steve pretty much ignoring her and Jonathan in favor of helping the girl catch up.<br/>
<br/>
She knew that the three of them couldn't kiss in front of the kids. As far as everyone knew Nancy was exclusively dating Jonathan so kissing Steve would be bizarre, and Steve and Jonathan <em>definitely</em> couldn’t kiss without being interrogated and potentially shunned. Nancy felt that Joyce would be accepting of her son’s sexuality because her family had been through too much for her to break it apart for any reason and the spitfire of a woman could bully Hopper if he had issues with it, but there was no guarantee. Especially with the kids. And while Nancy and Jonathan only really cared about their own siblings’ opinions if anything came out, Steve would be shattered if even a single party member reacted negatively.</p><p>Still. Despite that he could have at least given them some sort of the physical affection he was known for instead of just flashing them one of his brilliant smiles and turning back to the girl.<br/>
<br/>
And now instead of talking to Nancy and Jonathan when the large group split up into smaller pairs, he's sitting on the counter at some sub-par food court restaurant, probably giving the girl the longer version of what's been going on in the town the last two years.<br/>
<br/>
And Nancy wasn't jealous.<br/>
She wasn't<br/>
<br/>
It's just she's used to Steve being affectionate and slightly clingy and showering her and Jonathan with hugs and kisses and attention, and just being his tactile self. But she and Jonathan hadn't seen him in over two weeks and now he was paying attention to someone else.<br/>
<br/>
Nancy knew Steve wouldn't start up a relationship with someone else without discussing it with her and Jon first. She wasn't worried about that. She trusted Steve. But that didn't mean she was okay with being ignored.<br/>
<br/>
And of course the other girl is the one who goes with Steve and the children to whatever it was that Dustin invented.<br/>
<br/>
But it was Nancy and Jonathan he checked up on when all was said and done. Even with his injuries and probable concussion he ran to the ambulance where his boyfriend and girlfriend were sitting after all of them had gotten checked out. He awkwardly climbed in as best he could and squeezed between the two and Nancy felt warmth blossom inside her as she got to hold her boyfriend's hand in what was too long and rest her head on his shoulder, while on the other side Jonathan was doing the same, just a bit more tentatively and covered by the blankets. The three sat in silence and just reveled in being able to be with each other. Nancy wasn't sure how long they sat there, but it felt like too short of a time when Steve started to wriggle and pull away. Jonathan made a noise of discontent and Nancy just stared accusingly at Steve.<br/>
<br/>
"I'll be right back guys; I just want to check on Robin real quick. Make sure she has a ride home. Ask if she wants to stay the night."<br/>
<br/>
"Why would she stay the night?" Jonathan asked. He looked a bit sulky about it, and Nancy would think it was cute if she wasn't feeling slightly moody herself.<br/>
<br/>
Steve just looked confused.<br/>
<br/>
"We all just went through some pretty traumatic shit. She might want to be near people who get what happened for a little while. I mean, we're staying together, tonight right?"<br/>
<br/>
"Of course." Nancy said, sounding slightly offended at the mere suggestion that they would split up now of all times. "It's just..."<br/>
<br/>
"My house would be too crowded." Jonathan cuts in "With Hopper and El and likely Murray and their Russian friend there. There wouldn't be room. And it's not like she could squeeze into my bed with us. It barely fits us three."<br/>
<br/>
Steve shrugs. "I was thinking we'd use my place. I have a guest room she could use, and my living room is large enough if we decide to have a slumber party instead. Besides, I still have to ask her if she wants to come anyway. She might not and then we can decide between Johnny boy’s bed or mine."<br/>
<br/>
Robin says yes, much to the disappointment of Nancy and Jonathan who just want to spend some <em>goddamn</em> alone time with their boyfriend for once, especially after a traumatic event where all Nancy wants to do is cuddle with her boys and remind herself that they are <em>safe</em> and <em>together</em> and no monster or government can keep them apart.</p><p>The four of them end up sleeping  in the living room where Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan do not have nearly enough room on the couch to cuddle properly, and Nancy and Jonathan are forced to sit through Steve and Robin trying to explain the plot to whatever movie it was that they watched while they were drugged. They have to keep stopping to laugh or talk over each other to correct info. Robin mentions them having to leave the movie early to drink water and throw up in the bathroom to help get rid of some of the drugs while Steve talks about their awkward heart to heart on the disgusting bathroom floor, sounding incredibly fond and noticeably not mentioning the topics they actually discussed.<br/>
<br/>
And Nancy is not jealous.</p><p>----</p><p>It’s a week later when Jonathon, Nancy, and Steve are curled up in Steve’s bed after some much needed alone time when Steve finally breaks the news. Or rather, blurts it out.</p><p>“RobinknowsaboutusImsosorryIdidntmeantotellher”</p><p>Nancy sits up abruptly, pulling the covers up with her to protect her naked body from the cold air.</p><p>“What do you <em>mean</em> Robin knows about us?”</p><p>Steve squeezes his eyes shut tightly and tugs at his hair.</p><p>“I..kind of? Told her. That the three of us are seeing each other.”</p><p>“<em>Steve</em>,” Nancy says, aghast, “Why would you tell her???”</p><p>“<em>I was drugged okay</em>,” Steve sighs, “It was the night with the Russians. Robin and I were laying on the bathroom floor after puking our guts out-“</p><p>“That’s disgusting” Jonathan mutters. Steve ignores him.</p><p>“and were having our little heart to heart when she asked if I was still in love with Nance. The drugs hadn’t completely cleared out my system, and it just kind of…slipped out? That of course I love Nance, she’s my girlfriend. Robin asked what I meant by that since everyone thinks that you two are together, just by yourselves, and the rest just spilled out.”</p><p>Steve tugs harshly at his hair and Jonathan raises a hand to gently pry the taller boy’s hands away from where he’s hurting himself.</p><p>“Steve…” he says soothingly, “it’s okay…” Jonathan doesn’t sound entirely convinced of this himself, but he’s worried that his boyfriend is working himself into a bit of a state.</p><p>“I’m really, <em>really</em> sorry.” Steve sounds miserable. Nancy reaches over and sets her hand on one of his bare shoulders, her thumb rubbing gentle circles into the skin.</p><p>“We know, baby. We know.”</p><p>“She won’t tell. I promise, she won’t. She’s not like that.”</p><p>Jonathan and Nancy think that Steve may not know Robin well enough to make that judgement call, but choose to not tell him so, instead cuddling up to their boyfriend and spending the next few hours making up for lost time from the past few weeks before they have to give Steve up so he can take Dustin to the movies.</p><p> </p><p>----</p><p>Jonathan is <em>not </em>upset when Steve gets a new job with Robin.</p><p>It’s just…with school starting again and Jonathan working his own job it makes it harder to work things around to see each other. He managed to get a job at a photo studio in town, usually working with little kids that the more experienced photographers didn’t want to deal with, and it took up a large chunk of his time after school and on weekends.</p><p>Not to mention it was his and Nancy’s senior year so they were forced to really buckle down on their studies and had to juggle deadlines for college applications and essays with regular schoolwork and in Nancy’s case extracurriculars to make her application look even more enticing to potential colleges.</p><p>And yeah, Jonathan knew that Steve needed a job to get his father off his back. He had no need for the money. His parents paid all the bills and left him money for groceries and other essentials, but his dad was insistent that he needed a job anyway to teach him responsibility. Most of Steve’s paycheck went towards spoiling the kids and paying when he, Nancy, and Jonathan went on dates. Occasionally he tried to spoil Nancy and Jonathan, but the two of them weren’t particularly keen on the idea so Steve kept it to small, more sentimental presents.</p><p>And Jonathan knew it was hypocritical for him to not like not being able to see Steve whenever his boyfriend was at the video rental store, and that Steve did genuinely try to schedule his hours for whenever Jon and Nancy were at school so he’d be free when they were whenever possible (which with Keith making the schedule wasn’t as often as any of them liked. Even after getting to see the less assholish side of Steve the guy still held a grudge), but it still sucked when their schedules conflicted.</p><p>However, all this didn’t mean he was jealous whenever Steve and Robin had a shift together and had more opportunities to hang out while Jonathan and Nancy were busy. Not at all. And if it felt like his boyfriend hung out with her more often than he hung out with his actual partners, well that couldn’t be helped. Keith may be an asshole, but he also realized that Robin was one of the few people that could keep human disaster Steve Harrington in check.</p><p>And it’s not as if Steve’s time was just taken up by Robin. He hung out with the kids constantly too, hosting their DnD sessions and movie nights. Of course, whenever he did this Jonathan and Nancy were usually over as well, using their brothers as an excuse, and the three snuck off to Steve’s room when all the kids were asleep so it was <em>almost</em> like it was date. Albeit one that included trying reign in six young teens (and sometimes an eleven year old if Erica decided she wanted to come along)</p><p>It just felt as if Robin was a constant presence.</p><p>She would tag along on their trips to the diner (which weren’t really dates but they were not <em>not</em> dates), or come over when Nancy and Jonathan went to Steve’s to study just so they could see him (and maybe fool around a little bit. Which was kind of off the table with another person in the room). Or sometimes she would already be over hanging out with Steve when Nancy and Jonathan went to his house to surprise him.</p><p>Sometimes Steve even had to turn down dates because he already had plans with Robin.</p><p>Jonathan knew, he <em>knew</em>, okay, that it was good for Steve to have a friend his own age. Steve may adore the party, but there was just certain things he couldn’t tell a group of kids that are only now starting to turn fifteen. And Steve had admitted that as much as he loved Nancy, he felt isolated during their year of dating between the upside down stuff and losing his two childhood friends. Even though they were assholes, Steve missed Carol and Tommy. The kind of history they had didn’t go away easily and Steve confessed that even though it’s been two years and Tommy treated him like crap his senior year, there would always be a part of him that cared for them.</p><p>So yes, Steve making new friends was a good thing. It really was. While Jonathan and Nancy didn’t have close friends at school, they did have some people that they enjoyed sitting with and talking to, so they weren’t completely dependent on their siblings’ friends or their relationship for social interaction, and the two were confident that they would find making close friends easier once they left Hawkins and its’ baggage behind.</p><p>So Jonathan was definitely <em>not</em> upset that Steve and Robin were friends and practically glued to the hip.</p><p>He <em>wasnt</em>.</p>
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